Confronted with a challenging season that included nearly half of its schedule against NCAA Division I and Division II schools, the University of Redlands women's water polo team revealed great mental toughness and tenacity by winning crucial Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) matches late in the season. With continued dedication to moving up the league ladder, the Bulldogs finished the 2016 season with an overall record of 8-24 and a 4-7 mark in conference to finish seventh.
A season highlight came early in the year when the Maroon and Gray defeated both of its opponents on the second day of the Claremont Convergence Tournament on March 5. In their opening contest of the day, the Bulldogs cruised by Caltech in a 15-4 decision, before rallying back from an early deficit to defeat Concordia University-Irvine by a final score of 18-11 to cap off a successful outing. As a result of a total team effort, the Bulldogs scored 33 goals in those games, with senior utility players Taylor Christie (Anaheim, CA) and Caitlyn Freeman (Santa Monica, CA) leading the charge with six goals each. Furthermore, two players scored three goals apiece, while five others added two each.
Redlands endured a tough stretch of games that included an abrupt start to conference competition with a tough loss, followed by six Division I match-ups in a row.
Regardless, the Bulldogs showed tenacity and desire to prevail over non-conference foe Macalester College (MN) in an 11-8 thriller during the back end of a Division III doubleheader. Freshmen attack players Breanna O'Dea (Rowland Heights, CA), Sabrina Scoggin (Ashland, OR), and Sami Walker (Taylorsville, UT) came out firing to lead the effort with four goals in the first quarter. Redlands continued to roll by recording three unanswered netters in the second stanza, with Christie finding the back of the net twice, while freshman utility player Kolby Kahahawai (Kailua, HI) added a goal, to give the Maroon and Gray a dominant 7-0 lead at the midway point of the game. In the third period, senior attack player Annie Kinney (Newport Beach, CA) and sophomore attack player Alea Weber (Haiku, HI) tacked on one score each. Despite a scoreless fourth, Redlands held on for the exciting win.
A short week later, the Bulldogs competed in another doubleheader, first taking on the Beavers of Caltech. The team started the day off strong with a stellar performance from Kinney, who fired off a hat trick, as Christie added three of her own and freshmen attack Erin Tait (Turlock, CA) getting in on the action netting two herself.
The Bulldogs were riding high from the earlier win and worked to carry that momentum over to the second game of the day, with hopes of avenging an earlier season loss to the Virginia Military Institute. In the first frame, VMI led the offense and appeared to be on cruise control, but the Bulldogs refused to go away. In the second quarter Redlands went on a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to one. The third frame provided the turning point for the Maroon and Gray, as the Cadets were held scoreless, thanks in part to the impressive play of freshman goalkeeper Allison Totzke (San Bernardino, CA), who made three key stops in the cage. Furthermore, Redlands gained a three-goal showing from sophomore attack player Rachel Haney (Redmond, OR), along with another netter by Christie. Leading by a score of 9-6, the Bulldogs stayed in front in the final frame, with Walker uncorking Redlands' only goal. Totzke finished with six saves in the 10-8 triumph.
After that electrifying win, the Maroon and Gray took on a mix of Division I and SCIAC schools, claiming significant conference victories against Cal Lutheran University and Occidental College just before the SCIAC Championship Tournament. The game against Cal Lutheran was quite a nail-biter, with Redlands having to play catch-up on three different occasions, before securing the 9-7 victory. Kinney led the charge by putting it through the posts four times, as freshman utility player Rachel Nelson (San Juan Capistrano, CA) scored a hat trick. Christie and sophomore utility player Stefanie Goldbach (Huntington Beach, CA) also added one apiece.
After dropping one to La Verne, the Bulldogs captured an important 16-8 win over Occidental in the final dual match prior to the conference tournament. Christie and Kinney put on a clinic against the Tigers, with Christie scoring five goals and Kinney adding four. Walker, Nelson, Kahahawai, and Haney assisted in the win by providing six more scores combined. Among the many lead-changes, freshman goalkeepers Carmen Gardner (San Jose, CA) and freshman goalkeeper Katelyn Jenkins (Bellevue, WA) joined forces for an incredible 12 saves altogether. With that win, the Maroon and Gray headed into the SCIAC Championship Tournament with great momentum and expectations as the host team of the event.
The sixth-seeded Bulldogs faced a tough road through the tournament, squaring off against a feisty squad form third-seeded La Verne on Friday. The loss set them up against seventh-seeded Cal Lutheran on Saturday, with hopes of repeating their hard-fought victory from April 6. Unfortunately for Redlands, the Regals scored with nine seconds left in the game to capture an exciting 8-7 win over the home team and send the Bulldogs into the seventh-place match.
The Maroon and Gray made the necessary adjustments to come out firing against Occidental on Sunday of the tournament. Although Occidental jumped out to an early lead, the Bulldogs took advantage of a subsequent power play with a goal by Kinney to even the tally at one apiece with 5:06 left in the opening stanza. Amidst the back-and-forth play, Oxy banned another lead. But minutes later, Kinney and junior defender Chum Alvarez-Zakson (Santa Monica, CA) netted two crucial goals to keep the Bulldogs in the game. Tied at six apiece, Redlands had to dig down deep at the beginning of the final quarter to find a way to win. Christie, Kinney, O'Dea, and Nelson teamed up to net four goals, while the Tigers could only muster one score, giving Redlands the 10-7 advantage. Senior goalkeeper AC Lopez (Northridge, CA) recorded five important saves while freshman goalkeeper Kelly Grosswendt (Newbury Park, CA) racked up eight in the final two periods. With that win, the Bulldogs snagged seventh place in the conference, as the 2016 season came to a close.
At the conclusion of the year, Christie and Kinney each capped their Bulldog careers by landing on the All-SCIAC Second Team. Christie scored 48 goals overall in the 2016 season, ranking her ninth in SCIAC, while Kinney sat in three-way tie for fifth place for goals scored in SCIAC games with 25.
In addition, Redlands excelled in the classroom, with 11 players receiving All-Academic honors from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches.
Although the team's overall win-loss record was less than stellar, the Bulldogs managed to grab two more victories than the previous season, while revealing incredible heart, dedication, and zest. Despite the graduation of five talented seniors, the Redlands women's water polo team strives to continue its climb back into the top echelon of the SCIAC with a hearty crew of returning players. Under the direction of Head Coach Chris Gielen, the Bulldogs look forward to the future milestones and contributions of the team.